Reviews tagged DIY

“... the average wedding can send 14.5 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere—roughly double an individual human's carbon footprint for a year.” So writes the author Louise Moon in the introduction to her book, The Natural Wedding. As the founder of EcoMoon, which specializes in designing green weddings, Moon is uniquely qualified to guide those who aspire to be responsible stewards of our planet.

If It Ain’t Cheap, It Ain’t Punk is a sweet, well put together documentary film that captures the spirit and feel of the do-it-yourself, underground punk scene that has grown up around Plan-it X Records in Bloomington, Indiana. The film began as part of a filmmaking workshop at Plan-it X’s weeklong festival in Bloomington in 2006.

Fix It, Make It, Grow It, Bake It is packed full of just about as much information as the title suggests. The book is generally a fun and easy read, with crafting suggestions and healthy recipes. It is not, however, the bible I’d hoped it would be. While there are many recipes for making your own toilet bowl cleaner, there’s little helpful advice on things like how to garden.

A lot can happen in ten minutes. You can make your morning commute to work. You can do twenty sit-ups. You can have an orgasm. If you are business owners Molly Adler and Matie Fricker of Albuquerque's Self Serve Sexuality Resource Center, ten minutes can be all the time you need to inform people about the hazards of labiaplasty.

Adorable, DIY-style animation and quirky music start off this excellent and important film about marriage equality in Ireland. Cara Holmes and Ciara Kennedy cut and paste stories, images, protests, and facts into a clever, witty, and purposeful narrative.
Voice-overs and interviews are illustrated and screened, intercut or overlaid upon footage from rallies, photo montages, and title cards (which have a very on-trend hand-drawn look). These touches make the film more accessible and adhere to the filmmakers’ established aesthetic.

I was about fifteen years old when PinkNoises.com started up. I was very involved in riot grrrl music, so perhaps it's no surprise that I liked a website specifically dedicated to women in electronic music. The writer of this content—as well as the rest of the Pink Noises website—was Tara Rodgers. After years of performing and researching, she came out with a book by the same name.

It surrounds us. No matter how difficult, awkward, or painful, we will inevitably come into contact with it. But despite its ubiquity, physical illness continues to be one of the most challenging subjects for people to broach.
Sick is a compilation zine on physical illness that offers up the experiences and perspectives of individuals living with illness.

Weddings are expensive. CNN Money states that, even with the recession, the average cost of a wedding in 2008 was $21,814. Paper goods, like invitations, save-the-date cards, and guest books can add up—so why not make them yourself?

Ever since I was in elementary school, I have been a DIY girl. I always received craft kits as a kid, and even now, I will not buy a sweater if I think I can knit it myself. So when I saw a book that claimed it could teach me how to make stationery and paper goods for special events, I was intrigued. In short, Paperie for Inspired Living is a DIY dream!
Karen Bartolomei provides easily to follow instructions for each of the projects provided.

I’ve always thought of indie culture as the marriage of individuality and community, and of course, a celebration of the do-it-yourself (DIY) morality that is ingrained in our society. However, some of our most creative pioneers are often obscured from mainstream art, music, and literature.

Permaculture Magazine seemed like an interesting concept that you don’t hear about in too much detail. I hate the ‘Go Green!’ trend and was interested in learning actual tips on sustainable living. On this front, the magazine was definitely able to deliver.
In this issue, I learned (theoretically) how to build an outdoor wood fire oven, how to care for chickens, tips for inexpensive and green day trips out with the family, and DIY recipes for beauty products, among other things.

What do a straightedge vegetarian German jewelry maker and I have in common? Besides our love of a drug-free lifestyle and animal-free eating, we like the punk-rock aesthetic—and if I do say so myself, a delightful mix of the ideals.
PorcelinaZERO, an online boutique run by an exceptionally friendly woman named Tanja, is filled with cute charms, funky rings, brightly colored cameo necklaces, and hip earrings. As I type, lightweight miniature microphones dangle from my earlobes.

I don’t usually have high hopes for books based on films. Luckily, Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft, and Design, which is based on the documentary by the same name, rises above what one would typically expect from this genre. Chock full of large color photos and interviews with crafters from fifteen cities around the country, this book provides a window into the modern craft movement in America.

These are tough times we’re living in, and it seems as if it has become increasingly rare for people to act out of the kindness of their hearts and the courage of their convictions. The economy is failing, the country is on the cusp of one of the most important presidential elections in American history, an ongoing war is costing the country trillions of dollars and many of us have to choose between paying the electricity bill and putting food on the table. So, what can we do in these times of great hardship?

Have you ever thought the world might be ready for your hand knit tea cozy business? The successful owners of Raised Eyebrow Web Studios, Lauren Bacon and Emira Mears, have written a business book for women entrepreneurs who want to define their own success: The Boss of You: Everything A Woman Needs to Know to Start, Run, and Maintain Her Own Business. According to the authors, this is the book they wish they'd had when starting their business.

Making nice is not the focus of Bitter Pie’s products. Instead, with such loudmouth, all-CAPS statements as “Shut Your Pie Hole” and “You’re the Reason for the Jihad,” these buttons are certainly radical and proud with their politics. These buttons are small enough to place on a bag strap or on a lapel, and grouped together, they could be quite stunning, especially for the politically conscious.
The one downfall to these pieces is that the images are not always crisp and the font is not always clear.

Handicrafts have made an incredible resurgence in the past few years; everyone I know (and their mama) knits or crochets. There are plenty of hip, modern knitting and crocheting books to go along with the trend, to show people things they actually might want to make. Sewing has come a long way as well, but unlike the other crafts, books for modern young women who want to sew their own clothes are few and far between (not considering books about reconstructing old clothes, of which there are lots of great ones).

I’m sort of a moron when it comes to knitting. Yes, I’ve made beautiful scarves for my partners and friends, the occasional hat that I inevitably give away, and I’ve donated time making squares for charity quilts. But when it comes to anything more complex than a multi-colored potholder, I’m a dunce.

CosmoGIRL!, the little sister of Cosmopolitan magazine, has just released it's own make-and-do book of DIY projects for crafty teenage girls. “Hey _CosmoGIRL!_s,” reads the prologue, “You may not know it, but you're the most positive, can-do, pro-active group of girls that has ever walked the earth. I know that may sound like a big statement, but it's true. You're smarter than ever, you're more independent, and no one can trick you because you see right through it.”
So what kind of craft projects followed this empowering statement? Why, “Boy-Of-The-Week” panties, of course!

Are you looking for craft projects to fill the summer months? Do you love rescuing discarded items from the trash or recycling bin and creating useful artwork with them? Look no further than Ecocrafts! Chock full of twelve project ideas ranging from a ketchup-bottle piggybank to a stool made of old magazines, this book is a sure winner with kids and adults alike.

My approach to interior design is somewhat offbeat. Between my bright purple walls, baby blue sink and curtains made from Halloween-themed fabric, I like my décor to be fun and reflect my tastes. I enjoy working around the house, and it's always neat to find home and garden items with character. Needlesstosay, I was absolutely thrilled about this sheet set. Made by Sin In Linen, the Skull Star "Pretty In Pink” sheet set is not only bedding that features skulls, but it is also PINK. Bright, vivid, awesome pink. As a Goth with a love of pastels, this was right up my alley.

Offering variations on the theme of independence + passion + thrift = making it, Goodman combines personal experiences, interviews with women doing it their way, statistics and strategies to inspire and prepare us for better living outside the cube, or inside, if that’s where we currently happen to be.
Themes include devoting more time to a pet project, getting a more flexible work schedule, working abroad, finding your dream career, breaking into your dream industry, learning to build a house, fight wildfires and do other unladylike (ahem!), non-secretarial things for a living.

The Fluffalicious! podcast is a welcomed edition to the DIY and crafting podcast world. Barbe St. John and Natasha Fialkov are mixed media and fiber artists who have grown tired of podcasts that focus on one craft. On Fluffalicious!, Barbe and Natasha talk about their current projects and discuss craft and art books.
In Episode 1, Barbe and Natasha discuss an armwarmer and a paper bead tutorial that are available on their blogs. Additionally, they talk about making handmade gifts for friends and family.

Venus has come a long way from its inception more than a decade ago. In its current form, it bears little resemblance to the average zine. Instead, Venus is a refreshingly sophisticated publication — glossy enough to tempt more mainstream consumers into giving the pages a once-over, while still maintaining a feminist perspective.
The latest issue is packed full of everything one might expect from a woman-centric publication, sans skeletal models and hetero-focused sex tips.

This anthology of DIY film techniques and ideas is nothing short of inspiring. It takes what I had thought of as a corporate and very difficult to break into medium and brings it to the level where anyone can become a filmmaker. Comprehensive and fascinating, with a lot of spirit, Ms. Films DIY Guide to Film & Video looks and feels like a zine, but is bound durably as a book. Geared toward women and girls, as women and girls are under-represented as film-makers, this book serves a meaningful purpose. I had never felt the desire to make films, but _Ms.

Remember reading or making your first zine? It was most likely folded in half, stapled and sold, given or traded to your friends. Staying up all night at your local Kinko’s, you felt inspired and part of a something bigger-something revolutionary. You went to your local bookstore and bought zines made by people you didn’t know personally, but felt connected to in a way that no magazine ever could? Croq is like that.
Edited by Heather Mann of Portland, OR, Croq Zine is focused on crafts and crafting culture.

“This is not your grandmother's crochet!” Indeed it is not. Sophie Britten's big, glossy book of DIY jewelry features pieces that exude charm, youth, and even grown-up glamour. For those of you who cannot think “crochet” without immediately thinking “granny squares” this book may change your mind. As a wannabe DIY-er whose crafts are generally restricted to making my own birthday cards, after poring over Britten's book, I may just dig up those crochet hooks I've got in the back of my sewing box and get back at it.
Britten is wise to us, of course.

This is a documentation of Portland, Oregon’s zine scene between 2002 and 2004. While it’s kind of basic, it’s worth it to see what Portland’s Reading Frenzy and Independent Publishing Resource Center are doing. Reading Frenzy is amazing – a whole store full of zines. The IPRC, right upstairs, is a nonprofit art space dedicated to do-it-yourself publishing – mostly zines, but also letter press, desktop publishing and other crafty things.

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